Fury over caravans on Nenagh site

The establishment of an encampment of people living in up to 40 caravans in one of Nenagh’s prime commercial and residential areas has infuriated local councillors who have expressed their frustration over why no visible action was taken to get the temporary residents of the site to move on.

Speaking at a meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District meeting held in the town’s Civic Offices on Thursday last, Cllr John Carroll said that it was totally and utterly unacceptable to have such an “astronomical” number of caravans on the site beside the Stereame Business and Commercial Park.

He said the encampment posed a threat to the residential and business amenities of the area. The State had tried to put every scheme in place to accommodate “transient” communities. However, they  just moved into the town and set up their encampment without permission from landowners.

Cllr Carroll said law changes were needed so that action could be taken by the authorities to remove caravans from the sites. Legislation around such issues was very weak and the Garda could not act. He said such encampments jeopardised all the hard work that Tipperary County Council and others had done to improve the town. Parking of caravans on sites was posing a challenge to the local economy and the practice needed to stop.

Cllr Carroll said representations would have to be made to local TDs to try to ensure that such encampments were not allowed in future.

It was very unfair on the businesses and to residents who lived close to the site.

He said other encampments had been set up in Tullaheady and Carrigatoher were caravans also needed to be moved on.

There were up to four caravans parked on a site beside an attenuation pond established to take rainwater from the M7 at Carrigatoher. If for any reason this pond got blocked it could lead to serious issues on the motorway.

Cllr Carroll said that the national roads authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, must surely be aware of the encampment. He couldn’t understand why the authority had not taken action to move on the temporary residents of the site.

Cllr Carroll said an encampment at Castlecranna that was “going on for years” was posing a safety issued in the area. The settled community was not going to tolerate these encampments. If the Government did not take action to stop them, someone else would.

He said he would raise the issue at every meeting of the municipal district until action was taken. People just could not come into the town and park on public and private land without first getting permission to do so.

‘POWERLESS’

Cathaoirleach, Cllr Phyll Bugler said it appeared that the authorities were powerless when it came to such issues. “We are in a serious situation here in Nenagh - especially with the most recent happening [the encampment at Stereame],” she said.

District Manager, Liam Brett, said the council was working with landowners and stakeholders and would continue to do so.

Since the councillors’ debate on the issue at their meeting last Thursday week, the caravans in Stereame have moved on.